


Chat Me Up

by L_Monster



Category: Free!
Genre: Cop AU, M/M, bar au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-15 15:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3452780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_Monster/pseuds/L_Monster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Matsuoka siblings have run the family bar since their father's death. Rin is obsessed with finding out what happened, Sousuke is a cop who gets him out of trouble, Gou runs the bar in Rin's absence and Haru is the mysterious stranger who walks into the bar completely unprepared to face the Matsuoka charm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

On the first Monday of every month, the bar closed down at one. All items that were not nailed to the ground were removed from the bar and taken upstairs in neatly packed boxes while every surface was scrubbed clean. It was how their father had done it and their grandfather had done it before him. To anybody else it would have seemed like the most tedious of tasks, pulling an all-nighter in order to make sure the bar was spotless by Tuesday morning, but nobody treasured this particular task more than Gou. 

 

Her earliest childhood memories were helping out their father clearing out a few chairs during Monday cleaning, although she had been too young to actually be of any help, she had ever since loved everything about it. How the scent of pine slowly took over the smell of tobacco, how with every slow scrub the oak bar gradually recovered some of its original lustre, the feel of freshly polished wood under her naked feet. It was a sacred tradition that had only been interrupted twice in her lifetime - when their mother had died and a few years later, when their father had joined her. Ever since then 'Sakura' had been run by her brother and her. 

 

Although little could be said about her brother's enthusiasm when it came to running a bar, let alone Monday cleaning. 

 

She couldn't say she didn't understand him. After all, their father _had_ died under suspicious circumstances, but no matter how many times the siblings had turned to the police and practically begged to re-open the case and investigate further, they had always been cut short by replies of 'case closed' and 'there is nothing left to investigate.' 

 

So Rin had become obsessed with the case and Gou had learnt to live with the idea that his brother would always go around chasing ghosts. After all, he had wanted to become a policeman since he had been very young. Only circumstances had never allowed it. Leaving a girl to run a bar by herself, no matter how safe their neighbourhood was, no matter if their home was right upstairs, had never been an option. 

 

So the bar had re-opened the day after the funeral, Gou behind the oak bar and Rin behind his leather binder. 

 

Years passed by and now here they were, living a comfortable life surrounded by good friends, good drinks and good music. Although business had been going down, some nights without seeing a single customer ever since about a dozen new bars had opened in the neighbouring streets during the last couple years, their regulars remained faithful and they managed to make a tidy living.

 

Tonight was one of those nights mostly due to bad weather and the threat of an approaching electric storm, so the only things keeping Gou's good mood were 9gag and the fact that she got to close early that day.

 

Gou looked up from her phone the second she heard the chimes of the bell by the door to be greeted by a pair of teal eyes that softened the second they landed on her. 

 

"Sousuke!" she beamed and perked up from her stool behind the bar. 

 

Sousuke took his cap off as he walked in, smiling softly. 

 

"Hey kid," he said, petting her gently on the head the second she was within touching distance. "Long time, your hair's getting longer." 

 

Gou huffed at the familiar gesture, always complaining about being treated like a child by their life-long friend. 

 

"You were here like, _two_ days ago," she replied, holding up two fingers to emphasise her point. 

 

"Yeah but I was here on official duty, didn't really have a chance to say hello," he responded as he motioned with his head towards the espresso machine. Gou got the message and quickly jumped off her stool, snatching up a little white cup with a single cherry blossom on its side. 

 

"You're still working now?" she asked conversationally. 

 

Sousuke ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh, looking out the window as if dreading going back out there. Gou couldn't blame him, she could hear thunder in the distance. 

 

"Yep, almost done though, just stopped by to check in on you, by the way where's-" but he was cut off by the sound of his phone. Gou gently rested her chin on her hands as she watched Sousuke's expression change from mildly irritated to slightly outraged as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. 

 

"No, it's fine, just - keep him there, I'll come pick him up," he replied looking utterly exasperated, he pocketed his phone and looked at Gou in a way that she had come to hate for the past few weeks. 

 

"Don't tell me-" she began but didn't quite need to finish as Sousuke stood up, gulped down his coffee and put his cap back on. 

 

"Mikoshiba's just caught him trying to break into old Tanaka's book shop," as he spoke, Gou let out an irritated growl much like an angry dog. "It's fine, good thing it was he who found him, otherwise, well. I'll bring him back, don't worry. You're closing early tonight, aren't you?" Sousuke quickly asked before opening the door. 

 

"First Monday of the month," she replied as she noticed it had started to rain. With a curt nod of understanding, Sousuke walked out the door leaving Gou an irritated mess. 

 

\--------------------

 

Sousuke liked being a cop, he really did. Even if living in a small town meant he barely got to see any real action, he had no complaints so long as he had a few mornings off to hit the gym and a few nights to spend at the bar. And it was a lucky thing he had become a cop, especially with an extremely troublesome best friend who needed to be pulled out of trouble every couple weeks. 

 

As he entered the 7Eleven down on Elm street, he spotted the dark blue colours of two men standing by the coffee machine. 

 

"Hey," Sousuke raised a hand and the two men turned, almost identical grins on their handsome faces. 

 

"Well, took you long enough!" the oldest Mikoshiba grinned from behind his paper cup. 

 

"Where is he?" Sousuke asked curtly, glancing around in search of his best friend. 

 

The Mikoshiba brothers snickered identically as they shared a look. 

 

"In the back seat," Momo replied nonchalantly. 

 

"W-what?" Sousuke replied looking incredulous while the brothers broke down laughing. "You assholes, he's your friend!" he raised his voice as he gestured for the car keys. 

 

Seijuuro tossed him the keys and Sousuke caught them with one hand. 

 

"You said to keep him here, trust me, that was the only way we could do that!" Seijuuro replied and Sousuke knew what they were talking about. He turned to leave but right before he was able to walk away, he was stopped by a firm grip around his arm. Seijuuro had stopped him, all humour gone from his face. 

 

"You can't keep covering for him all the time," he spoke almost in a whisper. "Next time I'm taking him to the station, friend or not." 

 

Sousuke didn't reply, he looked away and nodded curtly, only then did Mikoshiba let go of his arm. 

 

The Mikoshiba brother's patrol car was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot, no doubt trying to keep it as far away from prying eyes as possible just in case their friend was throwing a fit. It was beginning to rain rather heavily, so Sousuke sighed deeply as he prepared himself for getting drenched. As he approached the car he could distinguish a familiar mane of red hair, its owner slumped on the back seat. At the sound of footsteps, the head turned and a pair of crimson eyes met his own. 

 

"Shit," he mumbled to himself, getting the keys and unlocking the back door. He was relieved to find that they hadn't cuffed him, although the look that Rin gave him spoke millions. 

 

"Shit right back at you," replied the redhead acidly. 

 

"Rin," Sousuke began but as soon as he spoke, his friend had gotten out of the car and began walking in the opposite direction towards the road, getting soaked with every step he took. 

 

"Rin!" the dark haired policeman tried to pull him by his arm but Rin shook him off violently, his own hair slapping him on the face, eyeing his friend with a look of utter disgust. 

 

"You _know_ he's hiding something!" Rin screamed, pointing a finger at his best friend accusingly. "You _know_ he knows something and he's covering for someone, how can you not be on my side here?" 

 

Sousuke pinched the bridge of his nose at the phrase that he had heard about a hundred times before. 

 

"You have to stop doing this to yourself," he replied patiently, as if talking to a child. "To your sister-" 

 

"Do _not_ talk to me about my sister! I'm doing this for her! For us!" Rin's chest was heaving, his stance as if he was readying himself for a fight. 

 

"Rin, you can't just break into someone else's property, if the Mikoshiba brothers hadn't-" Sousuke was cut off by Rin violently pushing him away the second he had tried to put a hand on his shoulder. 

 

"Fuck the two of them! Fuck this, fuck you!" Rin screamed, trying to throw a punch at Sousuke who quickly ducked, in a fraction of a second he had taken a hold of Rin's arm and twisted it behind his back, effectively immobilising him, rain now dribbling down both their faces. 

 

"Rin," Sousuke raised his voice as his friend squirmed in his grasp, "I'll meet you tomorrow at 6 am at the gym, we're putting on our gloves and we're going to beat the shit out of each other until we're nothing but bloody pulp on the floor," as he spoke, he tightened his grasp on Rin's arm making him twitch in pain.  

 

Rin looked like he wanted to argue back but holding back from right out screaming in pain seemed to take all of his will, so Sousuke continued. 

 

"If you can't wait until tomorrow, we will head down to the bar and we can beat the shit out of each other as soon as I take off my uniform. But hear me out here," he turned down his voice to barely above a whisper. "The next time you try to punch me while on duty I will arrest you." 

 

He let go of Rin who stumbled a few steps before turning on his best friend and began massaging his twisted arm. 

 

They stood in silence under the rain for a few seconds, chests heaving and eyes locked before Rin's bark-like laugh rang throughout the parking lot. 

 

"Since when did you become such a badass?" the redhead laughed incredulously.

 

Sousuke snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. 

 

"Damn, you've been watching way too many good cop/bad cop movies haven't you?" Rin teased as he took a step closer and punched his friend on the shoulder. "Officer Yamazaki," he continued as they started walking back to Sousuke's car. 

 

"Worked didn't it?" Sousuke teased back, noticing how Rin kept massaging his arm. "Sorry about the arm," he apologised. 

 

Rin shrugged and looked away. 

 

"Guess I deserved it, sorry for going off on you like that," he almost whispered the last few words. "I'm a shitty friend," he added for good measure. 

 

Sousuke nodded once before throwing an arm over Rin's shoulders and pulling his head down to rub his knuckles all over his best friend's red locks. 

 

"You _suck!"_ Sousuke replied laughing loudly as Rin tried to escape his grasp by waving his arms about like a ruffled chicken. 

 

"Agh! Stop it, stop it you _dick! I'm getting wet!"_

 

 

\-------------------------------

 

 

She couldn't believe it, she couldn't fucking believe it. He had done it again. 

 

It was the third time that month that his brother had almost been arrested, first for harassment, then for breaking his restraining order and now this. She sighed as she poured herself a healthy measure of whiskey the second Sosuke had walked out the door. 

 

She sat down on her stool, phone completely forgotten, as she gulped down her drink and began biting her nails. It was only 11 pm and there was nothing she wanted to do more than to close the bar and begin scrubbing every surface she could reach. Then the memory of her father's voice brought a smile to her face. 

 

 _'Closing time's one am, not a minute earlier. You never know who'll walk through the door when you least expect it'_ he always used to say before winking at his children. 

 

That single memory had always helped whenever she felt the urge to close down and go to bed early. And it was exactly what she needed in order to stop thinking about her idiot brother. Fantasising about a romantic prospect walking through the door, ordering a drink - maybe buying her one as well? Had always been one of her deepest, best-kept secret hobbies. 

 

"Hello. Welcome to Sakura," she spoke as she stood up from her stool and with a graceful wave of her arm, gestured to the empty bar. "What can I get you?" she recited out of memory as she began acting out what she had decided would be her behaviour should said prospect walk through the door. She giggled quietly, turning up the volume of the music, a slow jazzy tune playing. 

 

"Oh, these?" she shyly brought her hands up to her earrings, twirling her fingers around them. "They're just trinkets, but thank you for noticing." She began swaying to the music, randomly grabbing a few bottles and a martini glass as she began mixing an invisible drink. "Here," she said, pushing the empty martini glass at the empty space before her. "It's on the house." 

 

She jumped as a particularly loud thunder was heard over the loud music and no sooner had she snapped out of her dreams that the sound of chimes was heard again as the door opened and a young man drenched to the bone that she had never seen before walked in. 

 

The stupidity of it all sent her into a fit of giggles that she tried to mask by grabbing a rag and wiping the nearest glass she could find. 

 

"H-hello! Welcome to-" she began to speak but immediately stopped as the stranger pulled back his hoodie revealing a mane of longish black hair and a pair of clear blue eyes. "Sakura…" she finished rather lamely, completely awestruck by the stranger's looks. He was extremely handsome and she had always been a sucker for good looks. 

 

"Are you open?" he asked rather calmly considering how wet his clothes were. He stood by the door as if afraid to walk in unless certain that they were still open. 

 

"Y-Yes! Please, come in!" she almost tripped as she tried to walk towards him, maybe help him take his coat? But no sooner had she said those words that he was making his way towards the bar, taking a seat on the nearest stool. 

 

Gou walked back to her place behind the bar as steadily as she could, hoping her smile wasn't faltering. 

 

"What can I get you?" glad those words were carved into her memory as she would have found it extremely hard to come up with anything else to say. 

 

The stranger's eyes met her own and she noticed he was wearing a rather confused look. He didn't speak for a while, glancing around and eyeing the display of liquors as if he and never seen anything like it before. 

 

"I… I don't really know. I've never been to a bar before," he replied after a minute. 

 

Gou's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. 

 

"You've never been to a bar before? How come?" she questioned unable to hide her surprise, instantly noticing how rude she must have sounded. She then waved a hand before the stranger with every intention of apologising when he suddenly spoke again. 

 

"It's just, I didn't bring an umbrella," the dark haired stranger spoke guiltily. 

 

Understanding hit Gou before she could utter a word.

 

"It's okay!" she beamed, getting the stranger's full attention for once. "There's a first time for everything, right?" 

 

The stranger seemed to consider her words for a few seconds before nodding, a small bite-sized smile on his face. 

 

"Yeah," he replied. "What do you recommend?" 

 

Slightly cheered up by the stranger's smile, she picked up a little coaster-sized menu and set it over the bar before him. 

 

"These are all our house specials," she said a she ran a finger down the small list. "They're all flower-themed," she added looking rather proud. 

 

The stranger scanned the list looking utterly confused as every cocktail's name was followed by the liquors it contained. 

 

"This one, then. Named after the bar." 

 

Gou looked down at the cocktail the stranger had pointed at, surprised to see he had chosen The Cherry Blossom, a gin-based pink monstrosity that contained cherry liqueur, lychee extract and about a thousand cherries, all topped with a few sprinkled cherry blossoms if available. Her brother's only original contribution to the menu. 

 

She giggled at the memory of how adamant her brother had been about changing a single thing about the drink. 

 

 _'Take it or leave it!'_ he had replied, unruffled by all the teasing he got from both her and Sousuke. _'You just don't have an eye for beauty!'_

 

"Alright then, I hope you like sweet things!" she chanted before turning around and gathering her ingredients. 

 

She worked in silence for a few minutes, very much aware of the fact that the stranger's gaze was following her every move. In order to hide her awkwardness and utter fear of dropping something before his scrutinising glance, she tried to make small talk, only to find the stranger wasn't much of a talker. Once the drink was finished, and it took much longer than it should have, she topped it off with a single cherry blossom instead of the dozen his brother would have added. 

 

"Thanks," he replied, pulling the drink towards him and examining it for a whole minute before so much as sniffing it. 

 

Gou pulled her stool directly in front of the stranger and rested her chin on her hands as she was so used to, knowing fully well that it was rude to stare, she just couldn't get her eyes off the man's handsome features. He looked about twenty-five, tall and muscular, perhaps an athlete? His eyes were kind and his voice was steady. He had long thin fingers with perfectly manicured nails, not that she would admit to notice that kind of things. Only she couldn't stop noticing every little thing about him. How his eyes moved as they scanned the drink up and down as if he had been looking at a crystal ball, the slow blinking and the length of his eyelashes. She almost fell off her stool the second those baby blues turned to look at her. 

 

"Wah--! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to stare!" she almost yelled, covering her face with both hands and looking utterly mortified. 

 

The stranger smiled benignly, his eyes twinkling with delight. 

 

"It's a beautiful drink, thank you, uh…?" he said, as if he had not heard a single word she had uttered, lingering on the last syllable. 

 

"Gou," she replied. "My name is Gou." 

 

"Thank you Gou. I'm Haru," the dark haired stranger replied, stretching out a hand towards her. She smiled in relief as they shook hands.

 

"Sorry about the staring," she said rather awkwardly. "Not used to seeing many new faces around here, usually it's just the regulars," her voice had a tinge of bitterness that the stranger called Haru couldn't help but notice. 

 

"Hard times?" he ventured to ask. 

 

Gou shrugged, pointedly not looking at Haru. "Could be better," she replied. 

 

For some reason Haru felt something like sympathy for the young girl. He couldn't really imagine what it was like, a young, pretty girl working at a bar that wasn't doing very well for some reason. 

 

"Is it because of the other clubs in the area?" he ventured to ask. Gou only sighed in response. 

 

"Guess so," she shrugged again, chipping at her nail polish. "But it's okay, dad always said it's good to have some competition, that's why our service has to be the best!" she recited, lifting a finger and shaking her hair in a perfect imitation of a severe school teacher. 

 

Haru couldn't help but chuckle at her gimmicks. 

 

"That's a good attitude," he spoke before stopping short, not sure about what to say next. "Does your father work at a bar as well?" 

 

The question puzzled Gou for a second before she realised what she had been asked. She was so used to talking to her regulars that she hadn't realised this was one person who didn't know her father was dead. 

 

She smiled sadly as she replied something that she hadn't said in a long time. Haru seemed slightly embarrassed after such a reply that he could only think of one thing to say. 

 

"Maybe… maybe I could help?" 

 

Gou looked slightly taken aback. 

 

"Yeah? Are you some sort of genius entrepreneur or something?" she teased, pouring herself another drink as she spoke. 

 

The stranger shrugged as he watched her drink. 

 

"Not really, but I know some people," he added with such innocence that Gou couldn't help but giggle. 

 

"You're on! I expect you and your people sometime next week!" she teased, laughing it off without noticing Haru's curt nod. "Come on, enough about business! How's your drink?" she beamed expectantly. 

 

Haru's eyes turned to his drink looking confused. He then gently picked up the glass, gave it a sniff and pursed his lips, barely touching the liquid as if he had been expecting to taste something toxic. 

 

Gou started feeling bad for the guy, she had tasted that drink before and she knew how horribly sweet it was. The only person who actually drank it was her brother, and that's because he had invented it and he knew everyone else hated it, so he claimed to love it. They all knew he didn't like sweet things, but he'd prepare it for himself once in a while just to prove a point.  

 

So Gou watched enthralled as Haru's tongue peeked out to lick his lips the second the glass left his mouth, and the way his eyes began twinkling before pulling the glass back to his parted lips and gulping down a large part of it. 

 

The younger Matsuoka could not believe her eyes. 

 

"You _like_ it?" she asked incredulously before covering her mouth with her hand, but Haru didn't seem to notice. 

 

"I've never tasted anything like it," he replied as if in a trance. 

 

"I'll be sure to let my brother know!" she smiled broadly, happy that she had finally found someone who wouldn't return the drink and ask for their money back. 

 

Haru looked up at her looking more confused than ever. 

 

"Why?" 

 

"Oh," she replied. "He invented it, you're the first one to like it!" 

 

The dark haired stranger looked down at his drink as if wondering if he was supposed to hate it, eyebrows pinched together. 

 

"You're not a very good saleswoman, you know that? No wonder business is not great," he deadpanned, a trace of humour in his voice making Gou laugh awkwardly. 

 

"I know, sorry! Anyways, Haru-san. What do you do?" she asked, trying to change the subject. 

 

"Just Haru is fine. I… do a lot of things," he had hesitated for a few seconds and that seemed like the best he could come up with to describe what he did for a living. 

 

"Huh? Like what?" Gou asked, a bit intrigued by his response. 

 

"Painting mostly," Haru responded instantly, looking a bit more comfortable than he had a few seconds ago. "Sometimes writing. Sometimes cooking. I like swimming too, and travelling." 

 

Gou giggled as she realised the misunderstanding. 

 

"I mean what do you do for a living?" 

 

"Oh," responded Haru. "I guess, all of the above?" 

 

Gou's puzzled expression lasted for a few seconds as if someone had pressed pause. Sighing audibly, Haru reached for his back pocket, pulling out a small presentation card. 

 

The youngest Matsuoka took it with both hands as she glanced down at the name written in elegant calligraphy. She did a double take before glancing back at the man in front of her as if she couldn't believe her eyes. 

 

"You - you're…" Her mouth was hanging wide open and before she could articulate another word, the sound of chimes called her attention towards the door where her brother and Sousuke had just walked in, soaked to the bone. 

 

"I'm telling you man, Ai swears he saw Tanaka's car parked right outside that club!" Rin spoke loudly as he walked backwards into the bar, eyes never leaving his friends' as if breaking eye contact would end all possibilities of convincing him. 

 

"Watch where you walk," Sousuke said a bit exasperated but evidently glad to be somewhere other than outside. "Hey Gou." 

 

"Stop bossing me around you big tree. Hey Gou get us two b-" Rin immediately stopped talking as he turned around and saw that Gou wasn't the only one at the bar. "Oh, sorry. Good evening! Horrible day isn't it?" Rin waved at the stranger with an all-too-friendly smile that bared all his teeth as if he had known him all his life. "What's a good-looking chap like yourself doing alone at a bar at this hour? That's just looking for trouble," he teased with a wink, making Haru's eyes widen and shoulders tense. 

 

Gou and Sousuke exchanged looks and the latter rolled his eyes at her motioning towards her brother, silently letting her know that he was in one of _those_ moods. During their ride back to the bar, Sousuke had confessed that he also thought Tanaka was hiding something, but he urged Rin to stop playing detective and let him do his job. Rin was immensely cheered up by his best friend's admission and had spent the rest of the ride home telling him every little piece of information he had gathered since his father's death. Souskue already knew everything by heart. 

 

"Your brother is _insane,_ " Sousuke spoke directly at Gou while Rin turned to him and flipped him off. The one big downside of having to submit Rin by force was the adrenaline rush that always followed. 

 

"Lend me a shirt," Sousuke spoke, and it sounded more like an order as he didn't even wait for Rin to reply before he made his way to the back of the bar and upstairs where the Matsuokas' rooms were. 

 

"Get me one?" Rin yelled back as he took a seat by the bar, not even bothered by how drenched his clothes were. It was at that moment that he noticed the drink set before the stranger. "Whoa!" he pointed at it, his smile growing impossibly wide. "You ordered the Cherry B!" he beamed, eyeing him up and down before scooting two chairs closer to the handsome stranger who looked at him like he was mad. 

 

"I invented that," he beamed proudly, pointing his own thumb towards him. "Hey you little runt, where's my drink?" Rin teased his sister playfully, who hadn't uttered a word since they had walked in. 

 

She huffed indignantly and turned on her heels. 

 

"Get it yourself!" she responded, suddenly remembering the fact that she was actually _furious_ at her brother before storming off behind Sousuke. 

 

Rin let out a bark-like chuckle, slapped the bar a couple of times playfully before getting up and walking behind the counter. 

 

"Sisters," he almost chanted while picking up two giant jugs and filling them up to the brim, never really taking his eyes off Haru.  

 

Haru looked from the redhead to the door where the other two had disappeared looking slightly horrified to be left alone with someone who had been diagnosed insane only a couple minutes before. At loss for what to do, he picked up his half empty pink drink and gulped it down in one go, shivering as the alcohol attacked his palate. 

 

The redhead who had been openly staring at the stranger let out another chuckle before turning to the sound system and plugging his phone to the speakers. An upbeat tune instantly started playing as Rin swayed his hips to the music. 

 

"So," the barman spoke, gesturing to the empty martini glass with a nod. "How'd you like it?" 

 

Haru looked slightly appalled at his own behaviour, glancing at the empty glass as if it had offended him. 

 

"Oh," Rin chanted, used to getting the same reaction from anyone who ordered his drink, "guess you don't have an eye for beauty either, huh?" 

 

At this, Haru's shoulders tensed and he sat up like a spring, looking as if someone had slapped him.  

 

"Wh-"

 

"Tell you what, the drink's on me. And the next one as well," he said as he gracefully waved an arm towards the counters lined with bottles behind him. "As a thank you for picking my drink," he winked at him playfully and Haru realised his hands hurt as he turned down and saw his knuckles had turned white from grabbing at his jeans. He looked up at the redhead whose smile hadn't shrunk in the slightest before pointedly looking away towards the window trying to see if it had stopped raining so he could run away from this mad person. 

 

"You don't talk much, do you?" Rin's voice brought Haru back from his thoughts and his eyes locked for a moment. 

 

"No," he deadpanned, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. 

 

"Do you drink much?" he added flirtatiously. 

 

"No," he replied. 

 

Rin looked slightly disappointed for a second before hand flew to his chin, exaggerating a thinking position for a few seconds while humming. 

 

"What's your favourite colour?" 

 

"Blue," Haru found himself replying almost instantly, apparently unable to take his eyes off the now officially strangest person he'd ever met. 

 

Rin nodded appreciatively, eyes only slightly narrowed as he stared at his customer. 

 

"What's your name?" the redhead asked as he placed both arms on the counter and inched closer to the stranger who instantly flinched back. 

 

"H-Haru," he responded. 

 

"Haru, I like you," declared Rin while straightening back up and slapping himself on the chest a couple of times to the rhythm of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, not noticing how Haru's face lit up like a neon sign. "But you really need to _relax."_

 

If Haru had looked surprised before, he now looked positively flabbergasted. He stared silently at the crazy person before him who danced and sang along the song as he skilfully juggled bottles before pouring liquor into a shaker, drops of water sprinkling everywhere as he twirled, then juggling said shaker with a shit-eating grin on his face before pouring a clear-blue liquid into a frosted martini glass. 

 

"Here," the redhead said as he pushed the glass towards Haru. "The Chat Me Up," he added with a wink. 

 

Haru's eyes grew impossibly large as the drink was offered to him. Before him stood the strangest, _by far_ the strangest person he had ever met and he couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable or _really_ uncomfortable. He glanced at the drink before him, blue and sparkling like the clearest ocean during the hottest summer day, then back up to the man before him with his dripping hair and shirt stuck to his body as if he had gone swimming with his clothes on, then back down to the clear looking liquid the colour of bluest blue, then back up to the maniac with the reddest eyes and widest smile he had ever seen and then he realised he had never felt more uncomfortable in his entire life. Without thinking about what he was doing, he stood up almost mechanically, grabbed his hoodie and walked out of the bar as fast as he could, rain be damned. 

 

Rin watched him go in disappointment without uttering a word, wondering if he had gone too far. 

 

"Rin Matsuoka, where is my customer?!" Gou's shrill scream made Rin almost jump out of his skin. He turned around to find his sister, arms crossed in a manner their mother would have been proud, standing by the door that led to their rooms. He rolled his eyes at her as he began wiping the counter. 

 

"Nothing," he chanted back. 

 

At that exact second Sousuke appeared behind Gou wearing one of Rin's larger muscle shirts. 

 

"Oh shit, why, _why_ did you leave him alone with a customer?" Sousuke asked as he smacked himself on the forehead and walked towards his untouched jug of beer. He took a swig and joined Gou behind the bar as Rin took the seat that Haru had vacated. 

 

"Where the hell did you two go off to anyway?" Rin interrupted before anyone else spoke, taking a swig of his own jug. 

 

"Sousuke here was just telling me _all_ about your latest adventure!" Gou replied reproachfully. "Did he at least pay for his first drink?" she asked, taking over the task of wiping the counter.  

 

"Nah, drink's on me," he replied. "That's what happens when someone doesn't like the Cherry B after all, huh?"

 

"For your information, stupid face, he _loved_ it!" Gou deadpanned and both Rin and Sousuke almost spilled their drinks at the news. 

 

"You're kidding!" Sousuke said incredulously after recovering from a small cough fit. 

 

Gou looked incredibly pleased as she shook her head. 

 

" _Loved_ it," she repeated. "He said it was beautiful and… and… " she stopped talking as her features took on a dreamy expression. Sousuke and Rin exchanged a look before Gou's shrill scream effectively scared the living shit out of the two friends. 

 

"What the fuck, Gou!" Rin yelled, covering his ears. 

 

"Do you bleeding idiots realise who _that_ was?!" she screamed. 

 

"No," both friends replied in the most obvious tone they could muster. 

 

" _That_ right there was Haruka Nanase!" she replied, taking out Haru's name card from her pocket and slapping it over the counter as if that ended all discussion. 

 

Rin looked even more confused than before and turned to his friend only to find him knitting his eyebrows, evidently having heard the name before. 

 

"Haruka Nanase, as in… _the_ Haruka Nanase?" asked Sousuke. 

 

"Duh!" replied Gou as she waved her arms about, instantly covering her eyes with her hand. "And we left Rin alone with him, oh my _God!"_

 

"Hey! I resent that!" responded Rin slightly outraged, "who the hell is Haruka Nanase anyway?" 

 

Both Gou and Sousuke looked at him as if he was a talking fish. 

 

"Haruka Nanase, the olympic medallist?" Gou asked, outraged by her brother's lack of general culture. "The painter? The philanthropist? The women's rights advocate?" 

 

"I heard he's also the youngest person to fly around the world in his jet? He wrote a book about it man, come on," Sousuke added exasperated. "He's fucking Forrest Gump, haven't you heard of him?" 

 

"No," Rin replied, his smile growing wider by the second. "But you seem to have heard of him, by the looks of it," he added hopefully. "Personally, there's only one thing I need to know about him." 

 

"And what would that be?" asked Gou rather acidly. 

 

"Is he gay?" asked the redhead. 

 

"YES!" both Gou and Sousuke replied at the same time looking both exasperated and incredulous at Rin's ignorance. 

 

"Well then," Rin said as he pocketed Haru's name card, pulled up the abandoned blue drink and took a small sip. "That's all I needed to know," he added before standing up, drink in hand, and headed upstairs. "Happy cleaning!" he yelled before closing the door behind him. 

 

Sousuke and Gou looked at each other, completely at loss for words. 

 

"Hah," Sousuke chuckled and Gou glared at him with the fury of a thousand suns. The policeman shrugged as he finished off his beer. "At least that'll take his mind off Tanaka." 

 

"Why couldn't I have a sister?" Gou added regretfully almost to herself. 

 

"Alright, this room isn't going to clean itself. Let's go," replied Sousuke as he began gathering the empty glasses, readying himself to pull another all-nighter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan, a party, a look from across the room.

Although not particularly small, Sakura wasn't the most spacious bar in town, nor was it the fanciest you could walk into. Yes, the handsome oak bar as well as wooden floors gave it a certain air of elegance, not to mention the fact that their selection of liquors and imported beers was one of the aspects they were the most proud of, but other than that it wasn't by far a striking-looking place. 

But Sakura's apparent lack of embellishments was in complete contrast to the rooms above it. If you walked through the wooden door that led to the small kitchen behind the bar and up the narrow staircase to the right, you'd have reached the first landing of the Matsuoka quarters. The stairs led directly into a large loft-like living room complete with kitchenette and large windows overlooking the street, a large part of the room was covered in tatami mats and colourful pillows and cushions while racks of shelves adorned the red brick walls. Lamps and candles of all shapes and sizes were placed on every available surface and colourful blown-glass lamps hung low from the ceiling over the kotatsu in the middle of the room. Their own bedrooms upstairs weren't nearly as lavishly decorated as the living room itself, perhaps due to its size as it was almost as big as the bar downstairs. 

And regardless of the coziness of the living room and how hard Gou had worked on it to make it as comfortable as humanly possible ever since their father's death, it was strange for Rin to hang out anywhere else other than the bar downstairs or the attic, where he had made himself a little nest for his obsession with his father's case. 

So admittedly, when Gou came back from the supermarket on Wednesday morning to find his brother sprawled over a particularly large bean bag in the living room, she was more than a little surprised. 

"Is something the matter, dear brother?" she asked sarcastically as she toed off her shoes. 

"Head hurts," replied the eldest Matsuoka without moving a muscle. 

There was evidently more to the story than that, but Gou decided against pushing for answers, instead she headed straight for the kitchen area and began unpacking her shopping bag. She worked in silence for a few minutes, counting in her mind the seconds it would take for her brother to start yapping away. 

"Say Gou," the redhead spoke up as he lifted himself off the bean bag and joined her in the kitchen. "I need a favour." 

I knew it, Gou thought to herself as she began picking out a few vegetables for dinner. 

"And what would that be, pray tell?" she responded without taking her eyes off a large eggplant. 

"I need you to cover my shift tonight, ah-" he raised a hand as his sister dropped the eggplant in exasperation and gave him a look of complete incredulity, "it's not what you think. I'm meeting the guys from Fireball tonight, they're importing a new spirit from their cinnamon series and I really wanna get us a few bottles but they're being total assholes about it, since production is limited, they're only going for the best bids. Just for a few hours though, I'll be back round midnight!" 

"Fireball? Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" she asked, her look of incredulity only growing stronger. 

Rin cracked a smile and scratched the back of his head. 

"Forgot to tell you, I guess. There's been a lot going on in my head and well, Sosuke did threaten to throw my ass in jail the next time I went on my escapades as you so like to call them, so I'm focusing a bit on work. Isn't that what you wanted? Besides, you know how much I like Fireball, would be cool to have something on the other bars don't you think?" Rin replied in an uncharacteristically business-like tone that had Gou's eyebrows threatening to disappear into her hairline. 

"Y-yeah, that's- are you lying to me?" she interrupted herself, eyes squinting. "Cause you don't sound like yourself at all," she stopped for a few seconds as she scanned her brother up and down. "Are you drunk?" 

Rin laughed loudly and reached out a hand to pat his sister on the top of her head. 

"Not yet, but I intend to be, if that's the only way I can coax these guys into selling us at least a dozen bottles, hell I'll take them to Caligula if that's what it takes!" 

"Yeah, and taking them to a gay strip club is the way to go," she responded sarcastically, making her brother grin malevolently, as if he had actually considered it a good idea. 

"Tell you what, if you cover my shift tonight… I'll do your laundry for a month!" he offered. 

"No way, the only reason I'm the one doing the laundry is because you suck at it, you pay no attention to the delicates whatsoever," she replied in a playful tone letting her brother know she was willing to negotiate. 

"Fine," Rin continued. "I'll go grocery shopping for a month! You can't say no to that, you've been begging me to for at least six months!" As his sister glanced back at him, he knew he was getting somewhere. 

"I'm listening," Gou responded. 

"I'll do the shopping and cooking for a whole month!" he bargained again. 

Gou shook her head a few times before resuming what she was doing. 

"Tonight's a busy night, it's Kisumi's party and the others are probably gonna be here and if it's anything like last week I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and end up throwing their asses out the street," she replied, knowing very well that the real offer was about to come. 

"Fine! I'll join you for Monday cleaning next month, jeez!" Rin finally offered, knowing very well that's what his sister wanted to hear. 

"Deal!" she replied brightly, stretching out a hand and shaking her brother's. "But," she added as she tightened her grip, "if I so much as find out you were out there doing whatever it is you should not be doing, I promise you I shall become very, very difficult to live with," she threatened under her breath. 

Rin smiled from ear to ear as he shook his sister's tiny hand. 

"Deal!" 

"And be sure your ass back by midnight!"   
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ai!" came the loud yell from the door as Rin Matsuoka trampled into the tiny hotel room in the outskirts of town, making a young silver-haired boy jump a mile into the air. 

"Rin senpai! You scared the hell out of me!" replied Ai as he massaged his knees where they had hit the table. 

The redhead entered the room as if he hadn't heard him, taking off his sunglasses and unzipping his hoodie. He strode towards the younger man who was sitting by the coffee table almost completely hidden behind his computer screen amidst a small sea of empty Cheetos bags and half-finished cans of Mountain Dew. 

"What have you got for me? Did you do what I asked you to?" he inquired impatiently, quickly taking a seat by his friend. 

The silver-haired youth merely nodded in response and pointed a finger at the screen where there were several different angles of what unmistakably was hidden camera footage. 

"It wasn't hard to break in once the Mikoshibas got distracted, you were right, nobody would expect a break-in right after a break-in," Ai responded matter-of-factly as Rin helped himself to some Cheetos that were scattered across the coffee table. 

"Awesome, this is gross by the way," he added as he cleared the Cheetos off the table. "Damn I'm glad you messaged me, I was starting to worry, hadn't heard from you in a while. Did you get into the office too?" 

"That's the one," replied Ai while he pointed at the window on the top right of the screen. "Lights are off so it's pitch black but don't worry, he won't go in there with the lights out, afraid of the dark I think." 

Rin's expression changed from amusement into something close to loathing. 

"Yeah, I bet he is," he added darkly. 

"I thought about getting the night-vision cameras, but I couldn't afford them with the budget you gave me, I'm so very sorry," said Ai with pink-tinged cheeks. "But I did manage to get the micro-zoom lens, it's pointed right at the safe in the corner, it'll begin recording as soon as there's movement in the room!"

Rin let out an airy chuckle and ruffled his friend's silver hair. 

"This is perfect Ai, thank you, here's what I owe you by the way," Rin replied as he took out a thick white envelope from his pocket. He suddenly stood up and began pacing the room, his friend's eyes following his every move. 

"And you said I can access this footage from anywhere right?"

Ai nodded enthusiastically. "You'll need a code, but yes, that's the idea."

"And it's untraceable?" 

Again, a nod. 

"Excellent!" he boomed, making his friend jump again. "Now all I need is for that fucker to open that safe and I'll finally know what he's hiding. How's the hacking of the bank accounts going?" 

Ai's face flushed instantly and he looked away from his friend. 

"I-I'm trying, it's just too risky to attempt without being absolutely sure that I won't be leaving any traces behind-"

"Ai, it's okay!" Rin interrupted him, "You're doing great as it is! Now with all the cameras installed I can finally map out the rest of the building, we'll get started on that tonight. Oh man I'm excited!" he added kindly, making his friend sigh with relief. "By the way," the redhead spoke again, "I'd been meaning to ask you, you were the one behind the pictures of that congressman and his lady friends weren't you?" he asked mischievously, unable to hide the huge green that suddenly appeared on his face. "That was brilliant!" 

Ai's already flushed face turned almost scarlet with excitement as he nodded dramatically. 

"He'd been calling out girls from the brothel where my cousin works at, they were willing to keep his secret until one of them came back with a black eye. Then they sent me," he beamed. "It was easy, politicians aren't nearly as careful as they should be, and this one was particularly impatient, totally forgot to check for bugs. W-wait, how did you know it was me?" he asked suddenly terrified. 

Rin laughed loudly as he patted his friend on the head. 

"Ran into Jackie from the club the day those pictures were released, she seemed entirely too smug about it and I knew you had something to do with it, you guys are close, right? You're brilliant, is that why you've been off the radar for a while?" 

"I had to," the silver-haired youth replied. "I sent an anonymous reel to the local newspaper but I was afraid they'd still manage to trace it back to me. I usually just send encrypted codes but this was kind of personal, they were always good to me, those ladies." 

"Well I'm glad at least you got my message, I don't know shit about cameras. Dunno who I would've asked for help on this one. There aren't a lot of people I can trust," Rin spoke gloomily. 

"How about Gou?" asked Ai. 

Rin turned immediately and raised a finger directly over his friend's face. 

"You cannot tell her shit, you hear me? She doesn't know anything about it and if she finds out I'm pretty sure I'll be homeless within minutes. Oh by the way, wanna come to the bar tonight? Kisumi's having a party! That's kind of why I can't stay too long, Gou's covering my shift but I've to be back by midnight." 

Ai looked incredulously at his friend, amazed at how quickly he could change moods. 

"D-Don't you think she'll know you were up to something if I suddenly show up with you?" Ai asked matter-of-factly. 

"Shit, right, well… never mind then," he chuckled. "Did you get the bottles I asked for?" 

"By the door." 

Rin then stood up and half ran half jumped towards a small carton box he somehow had missed when he had entered the room, taking out a green glass bottle and uncapping it instantly. 

"Ah," he sighed as he took a swig, "liquid happiness! Alright, before we get to work, how 'bout a toast?" he then tossed the bottle to his friend who barely caught it before it hit him in the head. 

"T-to what?" asked the younger friend innocently. 

"Revenge." 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Kisumi was an old friend. He had gone to school with Rin and Sousuke and they had remained friends ever since, so evidently, he was one of the most loyal customers they had. That didn't mean that Gou had to like it whenever he brought his friends from work to the bar. If there were two things that almost always resulted in chaos when mixed, they were alcohol and sports commentators. 

Then again, it was Kisumi's birthday and he had insisted on having a party at the bar, being the only place he frequented outside of work, so it was at about four in the afternoon when Gou started prepping the bar for the party. 

She had pulled out a stack of birthday party decorations from the back and was now busy hanging a 'Happy Birthday' sign over the bar when the doorbell chimed and a suit-clad stranger with a briefcase walked in. 

"Hi!" she chirped while balancing her weight on the stool she had been standing on. "Sorry, we're not open yet!" 

The stranger fixed his glasses and took a look around. 

"I'm not a customer, I'm looking for the owner of this bar on behalf of Haruka Nanase?" 

After hearing these words, Gou lost her balance and would have hit the floor had the stranger not rushed towards her and caught her in mid-air Superman-style. 

"Are you alright, miss?" he politely asked her as he let her down. 

Gou looked positively mortified, whether because of being caught by the handsome stranger or because of what he had just said, either way she was blushing to the tip of her ears. 

"I'm so sorry, gosh I'm so clumsy, please, have a seat!" she beamed, suddenly very aware of her clothes and lack of makeup. 

The stranger took a seat by the bar and clicked open his briefcase, pulling out a name card and sliding it towards her. 

"My name is Rei Ryugazaki, head of the logistics department at Iwatobi Corp," he recited by memory in one of the most business-like tones Gou had ever heard. "I am also Mr. Nanase's personal business counsellor and close friend. He told me that you were looking to get some insight on how to further develop your bar's marketing strategies and improve business overall…"

"W-wait, wha-?"

"Considering the location of your bar, competition can emerge from a confluence of factors, some of them subtle enough to be almost imperceivable…"

"Confluence of what?"

"I believe we could start by shunning arbitrage strategies that assume permanent access to liquidity-"

"Li-liquitiny?"

"Taking short-sighted and radical marketing communication strategies might lead to social and management problems, which can make your bar fall into the plights of marketing communication-"

"Who are you calling short-sighted? Hello? Hang in there buddy!" Gou interrupted the newly arrived by waving her arms about impatiently before him, effectively catching his attention. 

Rei sighed as he took off his glasses and began wiping them with a cloth he had summoned from his blazer pocket. 

"Miss, I'm here as a personal favour to Mr. Nanase, but that doesn't mean my time isn't precious, now I suggest you bring out your tablet and start taking notes since I have an appointment at 6 o'clock." 

"Excuse me, I don't know who you think you are but in this bar I am the boss and I'm not quite sure I like the tone you're taking, young man, our bar is doing just fine!" Gou instantly responded, straightening up to her full height which would have had the intimidating effect she was going for had the 'Happy Birthday' sign she had just hung not softly landed on top of her head. 

"Balls," she whispered defeatedly as she closed her eyes in utter humiliation. 

The sound of laughter suddenly brought her out of her misery and she opened her eyes to see the handsome stranger wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. 

"You are just as Haruka described," he spoke kindly. "Accidentally funny. I'm sorry, I believe I'm used to a rather aggressive approach when dealing with business matters, my most sincere apologies. You mentioned you aren't open for business at this hour, but might you consider perhaps pouring us a glass? It is after all my day off." 

Gou's mouth hung slightly open as she registered the man's change in demeanour. She smiled brightly and nodded once, taking out two short glasses and picking a label-less bottle from the shelves. 

"I'm sorry, I'm the rudest person in the world. It's been a long week, here," she said as she passed the glass to the business man. "Yamazaki 1980, not the best you can get but it's the best we got," she added humbly. 

Rei nodded appreciatively as he sipped his drink. 

"So," he spoke again after a few seconds of comfortable silence. "Now that we are past the initial stage of our official meeting, would you mind telling me, if your bar is 'doing just fine', why did Mr. Nanase call me in the middle of the night, something he had never done before, to ask me for a favour, which he had also never done before, to come to this bar on my day off and give you some business advice?" 

Gou listened carefully as she began thinking about that day he had met the infamous Haruka Nanase. Hadn't they joked about him being an expert entrepreneur before she knew who he was? As she retold their conversation to the recently arrived stranger, he began to seem more and more amused by the whole thing. She told him about how she had no idea who he was when he walked in, how awful she had felt when she had found out and then how abruptly he had left in the end. 

"This explains a lot. You see, Haruka is an extremely accomplished person, but he doesn't have a good ear for sarcasm," he explained. "He must have thought you were serious when you said you'd be expecting him, and for some reason unknown to me, he actually followed through." 

"Oh," was the only response Gou could manage. "That's very kind of him, isn't it?" she asked innocently, to which Rei slowly nodded. 

"Curious," he almost mumbled to himself. 

"What's curious?" 

Rei thought hard for a few seconds before sliding the glass back to the girl who quickly refilled it.

"Haruka's never had any interest in bars, restaurants yes, he's very passionate about food in general but drinks, not so much, I very much doubt he's ever set foot on a bar before," he responded as he took another sip. "Especially since he tends to avoid uncomfortable situations." 

Gou was about to open her mouth to respond when her phone suddenly rang. Pulling out of her front pocket she quickly read through the message and her eyes began widening with every word. 

"Shit, shit shit shit shit!" she hissed as she slammed the phone on the bar. "Zero consideration! None whatsoever! Why do I even put up with them, that's what I want to know!" 

Rei looked puzzled at the young girl before him who was in the midst of throwing a fit. 

"Is something the matter?" he asked politely. 

"Kisumi's moved the time of the party from eight to six!" she explained through gritted teeth. "Said the caterers are on their way but I'm nowhere near done here, I have all this crap to hang, about a hundred bottles of beer that need to be refrigerated immediately, need to bring out a few dozens of glasses that I have to wash first, sweep the floor, clean all chairs and tables and my idiot brother won't be here until midnight!" as she said the last few words her voice began to crack and tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes. "He's already paid in advance, I can't call the whole thing off, I just can't-" 

Rei watched silently as the young girl before him broke down in tears, a sight he could not stand for more than a few seconds. 

He then stood up, took off his blazer and began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. 

"Gou-san, was it?" he asked as the redhead turned to look at him with tears running down her face. "I'm aware we only met a few minutes ago, but as I mentioned before, today is my day off and I did agree to come here to help. I'll have you know I am an exceedingly proficient party planner and I'm very well known for my multi-tasking skills," he added proudly.

At Gou's utterly puzzled look, Rei sighed and took off his glasses. 

"Just tell me what to do," he clarified. 

Gou hiccupped a few times unable to take her eyes off the man before her. 

"Why aren't you my brother?" 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At around eleven o'clock Rin had been kneeling over a large cardboard sheet in which he had been scribbling names and dates while his silver-haired friend recited a bunch of numbers from a list he had been reading in the computer when his phone rang. 

"Shit," he cursed under his breath as he grabbed for his phone, "Ai, start the music, really loud," he commanded and his friend immediately obeyed, he clicked a key on his keyboard and loud electronic music began playing. To anyone on the other side of the line, it would have seemed as if he were struggling to talk inside a lively club. 

"Hello?" Rin almost screamed into his phone. "Gou, is that you?" 

He covered his free ear with his other hand as his hips began swaying to the rhythm of the music. 

"I can't hear you, I'm at the club with the guys!" he yelled and gave Ai a thumbs up. "I'm coming back soon! Don't worry! What? A Kamikaze? Well that's cool! See ya in a few!" and without even pretending to wait for a reply he suddenly hung up and smiled broadly. 

Ai turned off the music and looked at his friend expectantly. 

"No idea," Rin responded with a shrug. At the look his friend gave him, he elaborated. "Not to worry, if it were an emergency she would have called Sousuke, not me," he winked. 

The silver haired youth rolled his eyes and resumed what he had been doing, fingers flying over the keyboard. 

Rin took another swig of his almost empty bottle of Cherry Cinnamon Fireball and headed for the balcony doors. 

"Going for a smoke, care to join me?" he asked his friend who quickly shook his head without taking his eyes off his screen. 

As he stepped outside cigarette in mouth, into the cool night air he leaned back on the handrail. He smoked in silence for a few minutes when his phone rang with a new message. 

From Sousuke: You're a dick brother, you know that? 

Rin snickered as he read and quickly typed a reply. 

From me: How's the party?

From Sousuke: Raging. How's Aichirou? 

As he read his friend's almost instant reply his blood ran cold. At lost for what to reply he quickly ran back into the room, gripping his phone so hard it hurt. 

"Aichirou Nitori, who else knows you're back in town?" he inquired in a tone reminiscent of his sister. 

Ai looked up from his screen, barely having registered what his friend had asked. 

"Huh? Oh, just you and Marcus from the club, why?" he responded innocently and Rin's eyes widened incredulously, mouth twitching completely at loss for words. 

"Ai you're such an idiot!" he shrieked, quickly gathering his things and frantically running a hand through his hair while trying to tie his boots back on and heading for the door at the same time. "Marcus is Sousuke's sparring partner!" he added as if that explained everything. 

It took a couple of seconds for Ai to register what his friend was talking about, then a look of utter guilt took over his childish features. He stood up quickly and began gathering the rest of Rin's things, packing everything back and meeting him at the door. 

"I'm so sorry! I forgot! Marcus has been keeping an eye out for me, he's friendly with the cops but he works at the club, we've been friends for years! Why, how- do you think he told Sousuke? He couldn't have, he-"

"He already did, Sousuke knows I'm with you, shit… I have to run back and talk to him before he tells Gou, shit, shit shit!" he cursed as he ran out. 

"Senpai, I'm so sorry!" Ai yelled back looking mortified. "I've ruined everything haven't I?" 

Rin stopped on his tracks before heading out, turning over to quickly pat his friend on the shoulder. 

"It's ok, you didn't know. Thanks for everything, I gotta run now, stay in touch ok? Come to the bar in a couple days, just pretend you were visiting your grandmother or something, got it?" and without waiting for a reply, he picked up the box full of bottles and ran out. 

Ai stood by the door waving a hand defeatedly until his friend disappeared around the corner. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sousuke quickly pocketed his phone with a smirk after sending Rin that last message. He had known about Ai for a couple days now and he had been waiting for what he knew was bound to happen. Rin would make some lame excuse to go see him, which was never good news as those two had a knack for trouble unlike anyone else he knew. The question was, what were they up to now? It wouldn't be hard to find out, he could read Rin like a book and he knew it would only take a couple of well-phrased questions to have him spilling the beans. 

As he thought hard about what could possibly be going on between his two childhood friends, he took in his surroundings. The bar looked like it had been decorated by a group of ten year olds, with balloons and happy birthday decorations hanging from every corner, Sousuke was surprised Gou had been able to pull it off by herself, considering how clumsy the girl was. He had arrived only a few minutes before and the party was in full-bloom, with Kisumi and his friends doing shots in the corner and a few girls dancing by the jukebox, he was glad nobody had spared him a glance as he walked in and took a seat by the bar closest to the kitchen. Those were his thoughts when a person he had never seen before wearing a tie around his forehead walked out the kitchen carrying a tray full of odd-looking bite-sized snacks. 

His immediate response at seeing someone he hadn't seen before walk out of their friend's kitchen was to grab for his gun but as his hand fell upon nothing but his wallet, he realised he was off duty and gritted his teeth. He'd been about to stand up and tackle the stranger when Gou's squeal hit his ears. 

"Ryugazaki-kun! Those look amazing!" she beamed as she looked up from the cocktail she'd been mixing. 

The stranger positively shone with unbridled glee as he walked from behind the bar towards the crowd. 

"Hors d'oeuvres are ready everyone, come get them while they're hot!" he called out and a few people rushed towards him excitedly. 

Sousuke cleared his throat as he took in this bizarre new development and called at Gou without taking his eyes off the stranger. 

"Say Gou, mind telling me who the f-" 

"Ryugazaki!" came Kisumi's ear-splitting scream from the corner of the room, "get your scrawny ass over here already! Yamada's ready for a rematch!" 

"You dick!" one of his co-workers quickly elbowed him on the ribs, "I'm not going anywhere near him again, man my arm's killing me!" he replied and everyone continued cracking jokes. 

"Patience fellows, I have duties to fulfil," the bespectacled man replied calmly, smiling brightly as he carried his tray from person to person until he reached a scowling dark haired man sitting by the bar. "Amuse bouche?" he offered kindly. 

Sousuke looked at the man up and down unable to decide if he wanted to punch him or strangle him when he suddenly heard Gou's voice behind him. 

"Sousuke-kun, this is Rei Ryugazaki, he's been helping me out since early this afternoon, I don't know what I would have done without him!" she beamed and Ryugazaki nodded politely before him, tie dangling from his head. 

"I've heard all about you, Sousuke-san. It's an absolute pleasure to meet you," his words were a bit slurred which led Sousuke know the man had been drinking, but except for that and the ridiculous tie around his head, he look otherwise well-composed. 

"Hm," Sousuke nodded curtly, slightly creeped out by their exchange. 

"Gou-san, please," Rei spoke as he offered the tray to the redhead girl. "You'll love these!" 

Gou reached out and grabbed one of the weird-looking snacks and popped it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned like she always did when she ate something she liked, making the stranger stick out his chest and smile even more broadly. 

"I can't believe this" she beamed, "and you said they were low-carbs?" 

Rei nodded pleasantly, "a hundred percent vegan!" 

"Amazing," the girl responded. "Sousuke, try one, you must! They're delightful!" she squealed. 

Sousuke took one look at the snacks before deciding there was no way he would put them green things in his mouth when suddenly the stranger straightened up and set the trey down on the bar. 

"Sorry," he apologised as he reached for his phone. "I need to take this," he added and walked back into the kitchen. 

"Just what the hell is going on?" Sousuke inquired as Gou watched the man go looking utterly delighted. 

"Well, we both noticed the complete lack of organic and healthy snacks in the spread the caterers brought over. They were mostly fried stuff and chicken wings so Rei offered to make us something different, you know, an alternative to these snacks that more often than not are loaded with saturated fat, calories and sodium that can-" 

"I'm talking about why is he here," the policeman clarified, pointing his bottle of beer towards the kitchen door. 

"Oh," the girl grinned, "he came by this afternoon because of-" here she stopped for a couple seconds, her eyes widening like saucers. "Sousuke! He's Nanase's friend! Remember him, Haruka Nanase? From last week? He sent his friend over to help with business and oh, Sousuke!" she beamed, "he's just delightful! I called my brother to tell him about it but he couldn't hear me over the loud music, he's in a club with the Fireball guys, did I tell you that? Finally everything's starting to look up! Brother's getting more involved and now we have Rei to help out if we need him and can you imagine if-" but as soon as she began rambling, a drunken Kisumi had made his way towards Sousuke and laid a heavy hand over his friend's shoulders. 

"Sou-chan!" he slurred, "What took you so long? Come, come do shots with us!" he tried pulling his friend by the arm only to give up a second later. "Man, you've been working out," he said as he felt his friend's biceps. 

Sousuke shrugged him off and gently smacked him across the face. 

"Happy birthday, you're drunk," he casually commented, making his friend grin childishly. 

"Just getting started! Hey, where's Rei? Man I tell you, he knows everything, like there's nothing he doesn't know, you know?" 

"Kisumi," replied Sousuke as he rubbed his temples, "shut up." 

At that moment, Rei walked out of the kitchen looking very pleased with himself. 

"What's with you?" asked Sousuke suspiciously as he took one look at him. 

Without replying, Rei merely nodded towards the door and they all turned their heads to see a new face walk into the bar. 

"Holy fuck," exclaimed Kisumi, eyes widening and mouth hanging open. "That's fucking Haruka Nanase!" 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk from the subway station towards the bar wasn't long, but Rin felt like it took him ages to get there. Ever since he had left the hotel, he'd been thinking of nothing but excuses to tell his friend. He knew what to expect and he knew Sousuke was a damn good interrogator. If he wanted to know something, he'd probably end up finding out, especially if it was a matter of getting it out of him. So he had spent the whole train ride back coming up with lies upon lies that wouldn't sound so much as lies when said out loud. 

He'd made it back barely a few minutes before midnight and as he walked past the front windows towards the main entrance, judging by the amount of people inside, he could already see the party was probably going to go on for a few more hours. 

He stopped outside by the door for a few seconds to get himself back together, with the way things were going, Gou had probably been busy all afternoon with no time to talk to Sousuke, that was a fact he had been counting on ever since he received his friend's text. Now, he was going to walk into the bar, ask Sousuke for a quick word, maybe with the excuse of needing help to take the bottles to the back room, and then hope for the best. 

He took a deep breath and kicked the door open, pretending to be carrying a very heavy box. He quickly scanned the room as a few heads had turned to him and he found Sousuke sitting on his old spot by the kitchen. 

"Yo!" he yelled through the crowd as he made his way towards his friend. "A little help?" but no longer were those words out of his mouth when he felt someone's arms snake around his waist and made him almost drop the box in surprise. 

"Rin's here!" Kisumi yelled as he held on tighter to his friend, "Rin's here! Rin's here! What took you so long?" 

The redhead almost lost his balance as he tried shaking his friend off without putting the box down. 

"Ki-Kisumi get off me! You're gonna make me drop these!" he yelled back, looking directly at Sousuke imploringly. 

"Easy there, birthday boy," interjected Sousuke as he got up and practically peeled him off Rin. "Need help with those?" he asked nodding his head towards the box. 

"My hero," replied Rin as he unceremoniously shoved the heavy box onto his friends arms, "right this way, Officer Yamazaki," he continued, pushing the dark haired man towards the back room by the kitchen. "Be right back!" he yelled triumphantly at no one in particular. 

They walked in through the kitchen and into the back room. The second Rin had turned on the lights and Sousuke set the heavy box down, the redhead closed the door behind him, the smile completely gone. 

"Listen Sousuke, I know what you're gonna say-"

"No you don't," interrupted his friend. 

"Yes I do! You're gonna say you know I lied to Gou and that you're probably thinking I'm up to something with Ai and I just want you to know that whatever Marcus told you isn't the whole truth-,"

"No I wasn't-"

"And that if you let me explain it to you, there will be no reason for Gou to find out about this because I don't want to worry her for nothing,"

"Shut up, Ri-" 

"And, and! You gotta swear not to tell anyone officer, this is completely off the record, but do you remember that scandal a couple weeks ago about-"

"Rin!" Sousuke finally raised his voice aimed a punch directly at the redhead's private parts without actually intending to hit him, but it got Rin to cover and dive. 

"Wha- The fuck is wrong with you, you psycho!" Rin screeched, having been on the receiving end of Sousuke's low blows before. 

Sousuke snickered and took one of the bottles from the cardboard box he had just set on the floor. 

"You wouldn't shut up," he said innocently. "Whatever, I don't even care what you were doing with Ai, you two are just too much for me," he added matter-of-factly.   
Rin squinted and raised an eyebrow trying to read which tactic his friend was trying to use on him. 

"Besides," Sousuke continued, "Ai is a good kid, whatever it is you try to get him to do, he'll probably be too worried about what'll happen to him to actually go through with anything. Your bad influence can only go so far with him," he winked as he uncapped the bottle and took a swig. 

Rin fought the smile that was threatening to appear on his face, disguising it with an exaggerated look of suspicion. 

"Give me that," Rin interjected instead, snatching the bottle from his friend. "So then, we're cool?" he asked tentatively, bottle hovering closer and closer to his lips without taking his eyes off Sousuke. 

The taller man shrugged and nodded once. 

"Yeah, we're cool," he said, and Rin took a long triumphant swig. 

"Ah, this is just fucking delicious," the redhead spoke almost to himself. "How's everything by the way, the party looks raging," he added, sounding completely relaxed for once. 

At Sousuke's silence he turned once more to face him, and was met with the biggest shit-eating grin he had seen on his friend in years. 

"What?" Rin asked alarmingly, a little creeped out by his friend's shameless display of teeth. 

"You'll see," Sousuke responded light-heartedly, as he snatched the bottle back from his friend and ran out of the room, making sure he shut the lights and closed the door before his friend had a chance to move. 

"Sousuke, you dick!" 

\--------------------------------------

It took Rin exactly 20 seconds to find the lights switch and walk out of the bar with every intention of finding his best friend and punching him in the gut when his eyes landed on his sister behind the bar. Under any other circumstances he would have walked straight past her if he hadn't noticed something strange about her. She looked particularly happy, and it drew his attention like a magnet. 

"Hey there sis," he said as he took his place next to her, smiling brightly at the customers at the bar for a second before turning his attention back to her. 

Gou glanced at him for a second and continued shaking the drink she was making. 

"Hey there clown face," she responded. "Right on time," she added nodding towards the orders set on the counter, "get these guys their beers won't you?" 

Rin nodded once and danced his way towards the fridge without taking his eyes off her. 

They worked quietly for a few minutes, laughing at the jokes they heard and nodding a couple of times whenever they were being addressed. It gave Rin some time to really take in his surroundings. The party was definitely at its peak and the bar was completely full, some people were dancing and Kisumi's group of friends (a lot more than he remembered) took over the whole back. He noticed a few familiar faces and many new ones, which pleased him enormously. He had almost forgotten about his meeting with Ai until his eyes landed on Sousuke who had resumed his seat nearest the kitchen. 

"Fuck you," he mouthed at his friend who only snickered in return. 

"Hello, you must be Rin-san," a bespectacled man standing directly in front of him at the bar suddenly drew his attention. "I've heard a great deal about you, my name is Rei Ryugazaki, pleased to meet you," he added as the redhead shamelessly scanned him up and down. 

"Hey there!" Rin responded in a completely light-hearted manner, almost uninterestedly. "Can I get you anything?" he asked while holding five bottles of beer and quickly uncapping them one by one. After a few seconds of silence from the stranger Rin turned back towards him and was about to repeat his question, fearing he hadn't heard him when he noticed on the man's face a look of curiosity that quickly changed into one of complete understanding. 

"Uh... are you okay there?" the redhead asked tentatively, suddenly feeling quite naked in front of the stranger. "Can I get you a drink? Are you a friend of Kisumi's?" 

Rei fixed his glasses and shook off the question. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare, it's just- ah, nevermind. I have a special request if I may?" he asked politely, and Rin's smile returned to his face. 

"Sure man, what can I get you? I don't do lap dances until way past 2 am, just so you know!" he joked, but the man blushed nonetheless. 

"Wh- no, nothing like that!" he choked out and suddenly Rin's laughter was ringing throughout the entire bar. 

"Just kidding man, relax! Tell me, what's this special request?" the redhead asked. 

"A glass of Yamazaki 1980 and uh... a Cherry Blossom," Rei responded, unsure of whether he had said the right name. 

Rin froze for a second, unsure if he had heard correctly, before cracking an enormous smile. 

"A Cherry B!" he beamed, "You're one lucky son of a gun, you've just ordered the best damn cocktail in town!" he finished as he began readying the glasses on the counter. 

"Actually, the whiskey is for me," Rei responded, mysterious smile back on his face. 

"Who's the Cherry B for, then?" the redhead asked curiously, and the only response he got was a turn of the head and a nod from the stranger towards one of the tables at the back of the room, where a head of jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes stood out from a sea of drunken sports commentators and Kisumi's own overbearing drunken presence. 

It could have been Rin's poor eyesight, but in later years he would come to swear Haru had smiled at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a whole year, I've no excuses. Except I do.   
> Shortly after posting the first chapter my computer broke down and I lost everything, I mean EVERYTHING I had there.   
> It took me a whole year to really sit back down and rewrite the whole damn second chapter THAT I HAD ALREADY FINISHED BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR.   
> That's why, anyway. It's done, it's up and please enjoy.   
> Heads up, rating WILL go up in later chapters, but not right away.   
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I needed flirty Rin and awkward Haru with a dash of police action and perhaps some drunk flirting. So I wrote it.  
> This won't be longer than maybe three or four chapters even though I'm feeling inspired, second chapter's all finished and will update next week.  
> Do we like?
> 
> And sorry about the double spacing. Don't know how to fix that.


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